The Kaplan Trials
by Nigrescence
Summary: Kaplan [Amara] has one mission: To kill an ol' guy. But she's too lazy to do it by the next day. She hires her personal best but petty situations turn into violence. Will this ol' man ever lose his number?
1. Is he dead yet?

[This is my first Fanfic here on FF.net, flame me and you die! -ahem- now that that's outta the way. I'll begin. ^_^ k? Shout outs 2 tha peeps that inspired me to start writing. It's not a lot of peeps, but hey, you were there from the beginning. ShoutOutz2: Snake-sama, Cora-chan, Suki-chan, Loco-chan, Arym-sama, Veral-sama. From SSIC: Vampiro-sama, Cy-Cy, Ty-Ty, Palla Palla, Jun Jun, Bulmie, Ataru, Hotaru, Kazzy, Galaxia Angel, um…um… Jaded Lily, Lord Jedite-sama and Vegeta-sama! 2ThaNormals: Rachel, Marc, Marc, Jon. Even the EVILS get recognition. KC-san, SD-san, HK-san!, Demrekes-san. Okay that's enough. Time to begin. ^^] - [Disclaimer: SoD is my name and darkness is my game. Salena Kaplan : Amara Yahno is property of me. Other characters in my story(ies) are of other people I know. Arigatou minna san!]

Based on the weirdly created mind of the Shinobi of Darkness, SHINOBI is proud to present to you:

THE KAPLAN TRIALS-"Fukou na Isshou" [A life of Misery.]

-Flashback-

Gloved fingertips reached across the round table to claim a photo. Hidden partly by shadow two figures sat in silence and inhaled the faint scent of lit cigarettes. The Café at this time of night should have been closed, but remained open due to some 'unfinished business'. A well-built man smothered in warmth by his worn brown coat lifted a cig to the corner of his mouth. Trying not to disturb the deafening silence of the room, he quietly fumbled around in his pocket for a lighter.

"What is this?" Coldly, a voice interrupted his search just as his eyes left the other to join his wandering hand. He pulled the lighter up to his cig and flicked the cover to spark a flame. When he inhaled enough puffs of smoke, he rested his eyes on the young woman across from him.

"Your objective."

The woman sat motionless before him. One of her two gloved hands rested against the table. The photograph of an aged man was clutched loosely between two digits. She remained quiet and unmoving as she studied the man in her grasp. Her silence was scaring him. He watched her and she said nothing. With the black hat pulled slightly down over her eyes, he didn't know whether she was watching him or the photo. When she finally lifted her head a bit, she tossed the picture back over to his side of the table. It stopped just beneath his smoking hand.

"He's old."

"So?" The brown haired man dabbed the end of his cig on the ashtray before him. The ashes fell away from his cig. He leaned forward a bit and folded his hands against the table. "He's old and an easy kill, right?"

_You're also old and an easy kill_, she thought. she simply nodded. 

"Right."

"Then what's the problem, Amara?" She clutched a tight fist. He leaned back a bit when she lifted her gaze toward him. "uh…right. Sorry."

"That you can do this yourself, Snake-sama. Call me that again and-" 

The door's chime sounded as the door was heavily pushed open. Amara shut her eyes at being disturbed. She knew who was entering the café uninvitingly and to hide her string of curses, she grumbled. Footsteps engaged with the floor as the entrance door slammed shut. Slow-paced, were the steps. Amara placed a hand on the man's arm as it moved under the table to grasp the custom Walther P-99. She slowly shook her head at him and he casually placed his hand on top of the table. Amara stood up, pushing her chair back as she went, and turned to face the newcomer.

"Cora." Amara voiced as she slipped one gloved hand within a pocket of her trench coat. A woman clad in black with shoulder-length, copper-brown hair stood within the middle of the room. The crimson, ankle-length, snakeskin-leather trench coat cupped her legs nicely as she slightly posed to glance around. Her eyes fell away from Amara and landed on the brown haired man who still sat behind her at the table. Disgusted, she turned away and walked around a bit. She didn't even bother to answer. Like Amara, she remained silent and only talked when she felt the need to. Amara questioned herself internally and tilted her head. She turned back to face the older acquaintance.

"About this…target," she started. Amara watched as he leaned forward. Already, he was on to his second cigarette. Tassels of green rested gently against his shoulder. She noticed strands of his hair wavering amidst the drift that entered the room. After lighting his cig again and exhaling a few streams of smoke, his gruff voice finished without her approval. 

"Take it or leave it."

She sighed.

"How soon?" She questioned just as she reached down to claim the briefcase near her chair. Cora occasionally glanced in their direction as she poured herself a tall glass of whiskey. She made as little noise as possible. She was perfectly quiet for a reason. To listen in on their little conversation. She glanced over to the male in the room. 

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Amara shrieked. She watched as he exhaled a new breath of smoke. She batted away at the rising smoke. "Why tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. You better get going." She hated being sent away without full answers. She hated being sent away even with them. She hated it, period. Angrily she reached across the table and snatched the cigarette from his mouth. To make a point, she ground it out in the ashtray. That brought a smirk to Cora's lips and a small bit of laughter. When she laughed, Pliskin looked in her direction. She quickly averted her eyes.

"Smoking's bad for you!" Amara huffed. With the briefcase in tact, she turned and stalked off toward the entrance door. Forgetting all about her comrade who stood behind the counter, drinking away at the bottle of whiskey, she slammed the door behind her making various object rattle. Pliskin blinked silently then looked down on the out cigarette in his ashtray. Grumbling something about "women", "anger", and "cigarettes", he moved to shuffle around in his coat pocket again. Cora quietly started a countdown as she pulled back her trench coat's sleeve and looked to her watch.

"5…4…3…2…1." 

She shut her eyes just in time to hear Amara scream. Pliskin looked up at the sound then got up to go to the window. He pulled aside a curtain and peered out. Amara stood within a clutter of metal within the parking lot. He could see her throwing a tantrum as she kicked at the bits of metal and cycle parts lying around. A simple "Hm" came about from the lightly bearded man. The entrance door's scream filled his ear and he turned to face it. Cora stood before it, loosely holding the whiskey she found in the higher shelves. In silence they stared at each other. Cora never wavered and neither did he. He expected her to say something. Her stare was kind of intimidating but being that he's a man, he wouldn't let that be known. Saying nothing, Cora turned and stepped past the threshold. The door closed shut behind her.

-Flashback ends-

'You know what you have to do, right?" Amara asked, leaning back against her swivel chair. Her boots posted up against the corner of her cluttered desk. Trying to imitate a hard-ass that she knew, she placed a cigarette in the corner of her mouth, but didn't light it. A pale woman smothered in black folds of a cloak, lifted her hand a bit. Amara could see the purple interior silk of her cloak's sleeve. -Silk. Very expensive.- she thought. She took notice of the sleek black hair resting along her shoulders and the necklace that twinkled every now-and-then. The protruding silence ended by the sudden tap of Amara's pen. She was tired of waiting. An answer must come sooner or later. She looked up to see this woman's blood red eyes stare apathetically through her.

"Loco?" Amara voice risen a bit to see if she was okay or at least alert. Amara fumbled around trying to catch the cigarette that fell from her mouth. She caught it and sighed with relief that it didn't fall to the ground. She leaned back in her chair and propped her foot up once more. Loco released the photo from her grasp and turned her back on the foolish, yet, young shinobi. She sneered and tossed a brief statement over her shoulder.

"By midnight. Assured."

Loco didn't wait for Amara to nod or for any other form of an agreement to come; she had already started in her walk toward which she came. Amara looked down on the photo on her desk then to the doorway. Just as Loco was exiting, Cora was coming in. Sneering, Loco walked past. Because of the cloak she wore, she didn't feel as it brushed against Cora's shoulder.  Without hesitation Cora passed her a dirty look. A hand that grasped her shoulder abruptly stopped Loco. Harshly, her back slammed against the wall and a custom 8mm Nambu .14 pistol was perched against her left cheek. Cora glared from behind it.

"Cora!" Amara stood up. Both of her hands were pressed against the desk as she leaned forward.

"yamete, Cora!"

Hesitantly, Cora's mouth twisted into a frown. Loco glared from beneath the hood of her cloak at Cora who countered with a cold stare of her own. Neither began to waver.

"She pushed me."

Amara dismissed the eerie and lifeless tone of her comrade. "Save your kills for later. She works for us."

At this, Cora raised a questionable brow and looked Loco over once. "…"

She pulled away from Loco, uncocked the handgun's hammer, and sheathed her weaponry. Amara sighed. Cora tugged on her leather, fingerless gloves. She stopped when she got a perfect fit. Loco straightened, patting out the wrinkles in her cloak. She growled and turned toward the doorway, grumbling something about "assassins", "mortals", and "weapons" after a string of inaudible curses.

Amara called out to the woman.

"Midnight?"

Loco scoffed, only to disappear through the doorway without a confirmation. Amara fell back into her chair at the response. She glared over to Cora who leaned against the south wall polishing a short sword.

"This is all your fault, ya' know."

"Not."

"Yes it is! If she doesn't kill him you-"

"If you had of killed him in the beginning, it wouldn't be _my fault_." Cora glanced over to her. "The next time you raise your voice at me, there'll be a conflict between us."

"…." 

Amara frowned at her words and quietly felt around in her pocket. She removed the single cigarette from earlier and placed it in her mouth. Cora looked up briefly then returned to her cleaning.

"Smoking, I see."

"Not really."

"…Right."

Amara's frown deepened and she tossed the unlit cig aside. With her eyes lost in a stare and her mind rapidly thinking of the outcome, she asked:

"…What if he doesn't die? What happens to me?"

"What?" Cora looked up from the soft cloth that swiped carefully along her blade. Like always, she never really paid much attention to a Kunoichi. Because she's apart of Saito, Kunoichi's were considered inferior and weak-minded. Because she was an ally, she was careful to listen. Sometimes.

"The ol' man. What if he's not dead by midnight?"

"Kill him tomorrow."

"The deadline is today."

"Then kill him today."

Amara broke her drifty stare and sighed looking in her direction. Cora was always the one to talk nonsense when things didn't very much involve her use of skills. Sometimes her smart-mouth comments could get the best of Amara and Cora, herself, knew that. Cora smirked at Amara's confused look.

"You really are weak. In more ways than I imagined."

"I am not. Quit calling me weak."

"I'm stating the truth."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not."

"Too."

Amara sighed.

"okay, ya'know what? I need a drink."

"That's a good thing."

"What is?"

"That you're becoming an alcoholic."

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"You are."

"No."

"Yes."

"Please. Don't start this again."

"I didn't start it. You did."

"No, you did.--damn!"

Amara grunted in frustration and slapped herself. Cora crossed her arms. The door opened and both of the women looked toward it. Cora was the first to acknowledge some distaste. She rolled her eyes as Veral came in. Amara shook her head. He was a rather handsome young man who stood tall and was accompanied by a perky brunette who had a knack for hitting her mark with firearms. He referred to her as Mysti.

"You called? What's up?" The dark-haired man leaned over Amara's desk and smiled. Mysti frowned and poked him in his side. He eased back a bit then straightened. Cora smirked from across the room.

"What happened back there? Did you complete the assignment?" Amara blinked watching Veral bring a hand to the back of his head. He had sort of a confused look across his face.

"W-What are you talking about, Kaplan?"

"KC-sama…err…Chris. He was to be taken out. Remember?" Amara folded her hands. Mysti nudged her fiancé. 

"You remember. The guy that tries so hard to kill Jill and I. How many times must I remind you?" She pouted. Veral slapped his forehead and laughed.

"ohh! THAT guy!" He paused when he saw the change in Amara's face. "um…No, I didn't. Sorry."

"That's it," Amara grumbled, moving aside a few files from her desk. She slammed an index onto the call button. "Security. Please escort Mr. Veral and Ms. Mysti out of the premises." A confirmation soon followed. "Thank You."

"w-what? But I just got here!" Veral slammed his hand onto her desk. Mysti jumped. She pulled on Veral's coat, trying to calm him down before he lost his temper. She failed in her attempt. Grasped by the collar of her leather trench, Amara was pulled halfway over the desk. Her face just inches from his. "You can't just kick me out like this! You owe me!"

Cold orbs reflectively stared back at him, almost through him. Cora watched quietly from her corner of the room.

"I owe you nothing. You should have done your job. Now release me."

She watched as his teeth gritted. Mysti shook him gently and he batted her away. "I ain't doin' nothin'."

"Then suffer the consequences." Apathetically, she tilted her head. Veral's eyes widened as he felt a metal texture touch his head. Glancing to his right, a 8mm Nambu .14 pistol stared back at him. And even further, Cora held that cold stare too.

"Drop her."

Mysti wasn't about to risk her fiancé getting hurt so easily. Pulling Veral out of the way she stepped forward into the barrel of Cora's handgun. At the same time, two twin Colt Mark IV's were brought to aim. One aimed between those eerie green eyes, the other to her knees. If Cora's head wasn't going to be the first thing blown off, then her legs would. Mysti may be a sweetheart, but a factor remains that she's deadly. Cora's smirk faded instantly into a deepened frown. This Mysti chick was the first to oppose her in quite some time. The last was Amara. Mysti cocked the hammer of both pistols in unision.

"You drop it."

[Okay, peeps! That's the end of chapter one. Tell me what'chu think. x.x I was getting bored outta my mind with this story during the middle! I don't see how you writers do it! –huggles her Ken-Ohki plush/sigh- -_- Time to sleep. Ja mata ne, minna san!] 


	2. Cora's Deed

[wootness. u.u chapter 2! Keep in mind that I don't like this chapter. Its… I dunno. Bad.  .;; I guess.]

Cora smirked. "How fast are you in pulling that trigger?"

Mysti frowned. "Faster than you, I assure."

Cora frowned. "…"

Mysti smirked.

"Are you two done staring at each other?" An impatient voice sounded.

Amara crossed her arms and watched the two direct their gaze toward her. She eyed Cora then turned to Mysti.

"Ms. Mysti, could you please take your fiancé and leave. I don't have any more patience with you two." She eyed the security guard who now decided to enter. "Resist and I'lll have you escorted out."

Mysti dropped her aim slowly. She was a nice girl, one who obeyed the rules but was never too cautious as to bending them. When her aim dropped and her weaponry was holstered, Cora dropped her aim, but not fully. She waited until the perky Resident Evil wanderer returned to her fiancé. Oh how Cora scowled at the two as they held hands. Cora sighed in disgust as they exited.

"You should really learn how to talk things through." Amara commented. Cora backed herself into a wall and leaned against it, still with her eyes closed. She shrugged, dismissing her comment with a wave of her right hand.

"I talk when I want. Shooting a person dead makes a lot of sense when wanting to shut them up."

Amara frowned. "That's not a good way to end things."

"Neither was my life."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"tell me. what'd you mean by that??"

"_Nothing_."

"But—"

"Nothing, goddamn it!" Cora shot her a look that could shatter a bulletproof glass. "Don't ask me again, got it?"

Amara lowered her eyes to the floor, saddened at the sudden anger that lunged at her. "fine."

Cora sighed, shutting her eyes and Amara watched. Obviously _something was bothering her comrade. Even though Cora was ruthless, she'd never really raise her voice unless something was troubling her. This was something deep and Amara vowed that by the end of this story, she'd figure it out. Her eyes averted toward the double doors as they began to open. **Jill Valentine** came running in, breathless and bloody from the neck down. Cora's eyes slowly opened toward the woman and she acknowledged the fatigue in the woman's stance. Jill leaned against Amara's desk._

"he..He's after me." she breathed.

"Who?"

"Chris! Uh…KC-sama! The friggin' meanie!" she looked around nervously. Cora raised a questionable brow at the frantic woman as Amara opened a drawer and retrieved a notepad and pen. "You gotta help me, Kap!"

Amara nodded. "I will." She paused, turning to a blank page. "What's he done this time?"

Jill shook her head. "Everything! He…he has grenade launchers, magnums, Ak-109s! He's even forming his own damn army just to get me! He wants me dead!"

Cora pushed herself from the wall and slowly advanced toward the two. Startled, now acknowledging the other in the room, Jill backed away, unholstering the desert eagle, then bringing her aim against the approaching woman.

"Jill, its okay. She's one of us."

"I'm not one of you." Cora corrected. "I'm Saito. A mercenary. Efficient killer with a daunting flare."

Amara glowered at Cora's boast, and redirected her gaze to Jill. "she's one of us."

Cora frowned.

"Who's this KC-sama?" Cora asked, slipping a gloved hand into her trench's pocket.

"Umbrella Agent, I guess." Jill paused, lowering her aim to recollect her thoughts. "He's been trying to kill me for a long time. I was on a _date _and he tried to friggin' kill me!"

Cora blinked. "Interesting. I'd be glad to take him off your hands."

Amara looked up to Cora. "You'd what?"

"You heard me." Cora looked back to Jill. "He'll be dead by tomorrow morning."

Jill blinked, wondering what kind of woman she was. She was different from the other women she knew. None of them had the guts to go after such a man. Not even the feisty, but always changing, Mysti would go against him. And that was her sister! Mysti and her even teamed up against the mad man and still couldn't beat him! How was Cora any different? 

"Are you sure? I mean he's--"

"I'm not repeating myself. I'm sure you heard what I said also." She slipped her other gloved hand in her pocket. "If not, you both need to clean your ears."

Amara looked shocked. What the hell was Cora thinking? She turned back to Jill who, by this time, found a seat beside her desk. "Are you accepting these conditions?"

Jill nodded. "I have no choice but to!" she explained. "I've tried everything to get him off my back, but he keeps coming back!"

Amara nodded. "Fine." She said, crossing a few things off her notepad. "Cora, you've got the job."

"whatever. I'm just going to make her life much easier. One less man makes the world a little better." She scowled.

With that, Cora disappeared through the doorway of the office. She must be going to prepare for her kill, Amara thought. Jill then followed and Amara was left alone in the spacey confinements of her office. She sighed. So much activity with so much stress to come with it. All she wanted to do now was escape those four walls and dive into a warm bubble bath. But there was still eight more hours to endure before she could leave the compound and be free for the following twelve hours. She sighed, dropping her chin into the palm of her hand.

BEEP! "Ms. Kaplan?"

Amara jumped, and fumbled to remove the cluster from her desk, she slammed an index on the call box.

"Yes?"

"Someone's here to see you."

"Who?"

"Doesn't want to say. Should I send him in?"

"Sure."

"He looks suspicious." The receptionist whispered. "Be prepared."

The last message her receptionist gave played repeatedly in her head. Never had anyone showed up at her office as "suspicious" and this partially scared her. Why would someone remain anonymous? Just to be prepared, she patted under her desk for the berretta and removed it, cocking the gun in readiness. She laid it on the desk in front of her and leaned back in her chair, watching the doorway.

A knock sounded.

"Come in."

The doors pushed open slowly, creating quite a bit of suspense. Amara grew anxious, her eyes intently watching the doorway. When the doors opened to its full extent, her jaw dropped. **Marc Spade** walked in wearing the usual trench coat over a black T and baggy jeans. The custom .50 Desert Eagle tucked just under his left shoulder in his holster. He leaned over her desk once he crossed the room. She blinked, watching as he neared her and stared her in the eyes.

"where is she?"

"who?"

"Don't play games, Kaplan. You know who."

She blinked. "Not really. Too many people walk through here. It'd be hard to remember them all, Spade."

"Mysti. Mysti Valentine, Kaplan. Where is she?"

She stared into his eyes, and saw the fury stirring behind them. At the same time, she felt drawn to him. He was "kawaii" after all. She shut her eyes and shook her thoughts away.

"She left."

He eased back and she sighed, reaching for the handgun. He took it from her grasp and holstered it behind him.

"I'll hold this. Where'd she go?"

"why?"

"She damaged my car then threatened that she'd kill me." he scowled, biting his lower lip. "She threatened Rachel too."

Amara had a subtle disliking for Rachel Redfield. She, herself, would threaten the redhead if Marc weren't with her. Rachel was the 'i'm sexy, heavily armed, and you're not' type. Amara was more than that. Superior, compared to Rachel. Still, there was something about Rachel that was a little _off. She simply tilted her head._

"So?"

" 'So'…? Kaplan, listen, that woman's been tracking me down since me and Jill broke up. I want to talk to her."

"No you don't."

He swore softly at her remark.

"You want to punch her. I can tell. Or maybe you'd like to take her to an abandoned building, tie her up, put a grenade in her hand, and hit her with your gun every time she decided to go against what you call 'right'."

He shook his head, recalling what he'd done to Jill. "I've changed, my mercenary days are over."

"…right. And I guess the time you shot Jill was just an 'accident' on your part, right?"

He remained silent.

"I figured as much." Amara collected her files and placed them in a neat stack in the corner of her desk. "Leave her alone. If you need to 'talk', talk to me."

"But you—"

"Sit or get out of my face, Spade."

His eyes narrowed on her as he hesitantly thought of what he should do. It was either stay and face the embarrassment of how much of a loser he was, or leave and never find out where Mysti went unless he got in touch with Jill. He turned away and headed for the door. He'd have a much better chance with Jill than Amara.

"I'll leave. Maybe next time, we'll 'talk'."

She nodded, watching him disappear through the doorway. She looked around the room. _Alone again_, she acknowledged, tapping her hands against the wooden desk. _This was going to be a boring night_, she concluded. She sighed, dropping her head against her hands.

"HEY!!!!!!!"

Amara jumped, turning around in her swivel chair to face the window. **Jedite-sama** smiled from behind the glass and made funny faces. She smiled cheerfully as he phased through the glass.

"Jedie! Konban wa!"

He bowed. "Hello."

"What're you doing here?"

"um…" He looked around, hoping to find an explanation. "Just…um…coming to see you!" He nodded.

"really?"

"yep! And you won't believe who I kidnapped and brought here."

"Kidnapped?" she arched a brow. "Who?"

"here's a clue: Root beer King"

She paused, looking off to the side a moment to think. "root beer king…"

He waited with a childish grin and she gasped.

"Cyrus?!"

He nodded "yep! Ol' Cy-Cy, the rootbeer king."

She smiled. "Where is he??"

He tapped his foot on the ground and upon the ceiling, a black portal opened. Amara blinked, watching the portal swirl counter-clockwise. A man fell through and hit the floor with a thud. Bound with restraints and barely able to move, **Cyrus** screamed beneath the scotch tape. Amara giggled.

"Cy-Cy!"

Frightened, Cyrus began to squirm as Amara kneeled beside him. She snatched the tape from his mouth and he screamed. Jedite laughed loudly.

Cyrus looked around. "Where the hell am I?"

 "My office."

Cyrus blinked looking at the kunoichi at his side. "Do I know you?"

She frowned. Jedite kicked him and Cyrus grunted, glaring up at him.

"Jedite! Just wait until I—"

Amara smothered him with the scotch tape and watched as he protested. She then turned to Jedite and frowned sadly.

"he doesn't remember me, Jedie!"

"he's just joking." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "it's because…because he doesn't drink Root beer anymore. He lost his throne and title of root beer king!"

She blinked, then crossed her arms.

"But Jedie… Cy-Cy was root beer king at SSIC. The root beer thingy happened almost 4 years ago."

Jedite blinked. "oh yeah! Right. Heh, I'm still living in the past."

Amara rolled her eyes then turned to the door. **Hotaru** and **Kazuya** strolled in side by side. Amara grinned.

"omg! Hota! Kazzy!"

Hotaru smiled and Kazuya crossed his arms. Amara and Hotaru engaged in a hug while Kazuya and Jedite shook hands. Kazuya arched a brow at the bound Cyrus. Jedite went on to explain about how he kidnapped Cyrus to show Amara and they seemed to enjoy picking on the ex-root beer king as he was defenseless in protesting. Amara and Hotaru took a seat on the couch in the corner and started a conversation when two ninja's walked in.

"omg! Silent Ninja! Masked Ninja!" Amara recognized them instantly. **Silent Ninja** was the mute ninja who defended Masked Ninja, and sometimes would kidnap the innocent for ransom. While **Masked Ninja** was the one who carried out the missions, killed, and threatened. Surprisingly, both were female. Like the ninjas they were, they nodded in silence and found their place in a corner of the room. Obviously this was turning into a SSIC [SailorMoon and SailorStar's Interactive Chat] convention.

"Almost everyone's here…" she mumbled, looking to her watch. Just a few more hours and Amara would be off duty. She turned to the doorway and a gust of cold air washed over the room. All eyes directed toward the arrival and the room fell silent. The very attractive martial artist named **TerrinZ** wandered in, followed by **Slayer**, **Ataru**, **Bulmie**, **Galaxia Angel**, and **Vegeta.**.

Slayer distanced her self from the others while Bulmie clung to Ataru's arm. Galaxia Angel hugged Hotaru when they met. Amidst the conversations, **Chibi Chibi** wandered in, looking for Vegeta. Since Vegeta was her father, she vowed to look for her mother, but only knew little of what she looked like. She was cast into the future, which is actually the present, by **Eternal Saturn** [or so it goes] and has to find her way back. Only her mother can send her back though.

**Palla Palla** rushed in suddenly, screaming for her sister, **Jun Jun,** to stop shooting pies at her. Jun Jun cackled as she chased Palla Palla with her Super-Mega-Ultra Pie Shooter 5000. The Gundam Boys: **Duo**, **Heero**, **Quatre**, **Wufei**, and **Trowa **all walked in with holstered handguns and backpacks and immediately the loud chatter stopped. Heero looked around.

"Where is this 'Kaplan' person?"

Duo grinned, seeing a comfortable chair in the corner, he walked off toward it and the other boys went their separate ways. Amara excused herself from the conversation she held with Hotaru and Galaxia and advanced toward Heero Yuy.

"Yes?"

He glanced down at her apparel then hmphed, dropping the backpack to his feet. She watched as he shuffled around in his pocket and retrieved a diskette. The room's conversation started to slowly pick up.

"Yours."

She blinked, looking at the floppy as it was placed in her hand.

"For?"

"Dunno. I was only asked to give it to you."

"Oh. By who--"

"Amara!"

Amara turned to face the doorway, knowing only one person who called her by that name. Chris aka KC-sama stood in the doorway, grumbling as he worked to remove the restraints. Cora shoved him forward and advanced into the center of the room. He whirled around to face the woman and she kicked the back of his leg, bringing him to kneel. He glared over his shoulder at her and she unholstered her berretta, bringing it to the back of his head. She directed her eyes toward Amara.

"This the guy?"

"Chris?" Amara looked down on him and he winced, looking to the kunoichi. She noticed that he was shirtless, and his hair was wet. Under the trench, he had on a pair of trousers and no shoes. "You let her catch you?"

"I was in the shower. " he muttered, looking over his shoulder. "She surprised me."

Cora smirked at his words. "That's right."

Amara frowned "Cora…Why'd--"

"Don't you start complaining, Amara. You gotta get 'em when they're not looking."

"…fine. Take him away then. I have no words for him."

"I'm not finished with him." Cora admitted, cocking back the hammer of her handgun. "I said I'd make the world a little better, remember?"

"Cora. You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Amara gazed down on Chris. She knew his kind. The kind of man that wants nothing more than to hurt defenseless women and maybe rid the world of a few, if he wanted. He was the kind that'd make her sick. But still, he was a man.  He had rights like anyone else, even if he was the backbone of scum everywhere. She looked up at Cora's words.

"Say good night, Chris."

"Wait!" …And the trigger was pulled.

Amara jumped in her seat, her heart pounding against her chest, as she was fully awake now. She looked around and saw Cora staring at her. She rubbed her eyes and Cora shifted her eyes to her watch.

"Back from the dead?"

"w-what? What time is it?" she asked, looking to the window behind her. It was dark. Rain was pouring heavily and thunder and lightning echoed every few seconds. She yawned, turning back to Cora.

"Midnight."

"omg." She sighed, "How long have I been out?"

"I came in 30 minutes ago. Maybe you were asleep longer." She shrugged. "your receptionist left for the evening."

She watched as Amara cleared the files on her desk then attended to the blinds before picking up her purse. Amara crossed toward the closet door.

"I found that Chris guy." Cora said, tugging on her gloves for a more comfortable fit. Amara turned to face her.

"Oh yeah? Then what happened?" Amara asked as she reached for the handle and pulled it open.

"He's dead."

Amara screamed as she stepped back from the closet. As stated, Chris was, in fact, dead, as he fell face-first onto the floor before her. Amara heaved, turning away. Cora smirked internally, raising a brow at her comrade.

"Told ya' so." She murmured, shutting her eyes.

Chris lie against the floor with his eyes open. His hands were bound by a telephone cord, while his mouth was sealed with scotch tape.  The bullet hole on the side of his head was no bigger than that of a .45's. Amara glanced over the body. She found three more bullet wounds on his body. Two to the chest, and one to his left leg. It seems Cora may have been toying with him. Four shots were a signature of hers. The first shot would be to her prey's leg, if he was willing to flee. The other would be to his head after she brought him to a kneel. And if she felt uncertain about the death, two to the chest would assure her success in committing murder. Cora chuckled.

"One less bad guy…." She paused to cross a name off her 'Shit List'. "That leaves five more and that snake guy."


	3. Saito

Kaplan Trial Ch.3 –Shinobi of Darkness

[4:02am]

Startled awake, Amara jumped for the phone. Her heart pounded almost as loud as the phone that rang on the nightstand beside her bed. She reached over a stack of books and picked up the handset, pulling it to her ear. Her voice then came out thick with sleep.

"H-Hello?"

"He's not dead, is he?"

She sighed tiredly, running a hand over her face and hair. She knew exactly who was calling.

"Can you call back later? I'm really exhausted." She listened to the heavy sigh on the other end.

"Your time expired four hours and two minutes ago."

"Ok," she said trying to not sound so confused. She reached for the glass of water beside the lamp and brought it to her lips. She took a sip. "…What are my consequences for that?"

_Click!_

The line went dead. Amara made a face toward the phone and slammed it back against the receiver. _Damn,_ she thought moving to replace the glass where it sat. She turned over on her back and stared at the ceiling above her and listened to the whirring noise of the rotating fan. She looked to her left and dawned at the window. It was raining heavily outside. The rain relentlessly pounded against her windowpane and the thunder crackled behind the rusty night sky. The lightning flashed her interior walls, briefly lighting up the room.

She sighed.

"…He clicked on me." She mumbled seemingly to herself as she recalled the caller's behavior. She grunted, turning on her side with her back facing the window. She shut her eyes and the phone rang again.

She reached for it. 

"Snake-sama, look, I—oh, it's you." She nervously chuckled. She winced to Cora's harsh remark about how she had greeted her. Cora explained that she didn't think it was right to assume who's calling without at least saying hello. Kaplan sighed, decreasing her grumble to a low remark.

"Now," started Cora, resuming her normal monotonous tone. "I did you a favor."

"What favor? I didn't ask you fo—"

"You didn't have to ask." Answered Cora, cutting her off. "Lets just say you're going to be emptying all of your bank accounts for me."

"What? Cora, what are you talki—"

"I ransomed your guy. And his family will be paying me to get him back. Don't worry, you'll get your money back."

"What guy?"

"The ol' man on the picture." Kaplan could hear a man's muffled screams in the back followed by Cora ordering his silence. She returned to the phone. "Richard Daniels, I believe."

"Cora! Who told you to take my kills?!"

"No one. I did this on my own. Besides, he's not even dead. …Yet."

Kaplan swore into the phone causing Cora to laugh. "Don't worry. I never said I'd kill him. You'll take it from there."

"Then why must I empty my accounts?"

"To reimburse me for the trouble I'm about to cause with his family."

"What? I have to pay you for messing with them?"

"That's right. Unless you want me to tell the wussie that you couldn't take out a man thrice his age."

"Cora…" Kaplan groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Leave them out of it."

"Sorry, comrade. I tried making easy deals with them, but they wouldn't follow through. Now I'm going to handle the situation my way."

"But—"

"Don't even think of trying to stop me. Talking me out of it won't work either, so just save it."

"…Fine. Where do I find this guy?"

"Stop here by the Saito HQ to pick him up. He'll be in the holding facility in the sublevel."

"Stop…there?" Kaplan asked raising a voice as if Cora's lost her mind. Cora snorted.

"Don't tell me the Kuno's afraid of some Saito elitists."

"Please, I'm not afraid of some flap-jawed punks who wears a snake as a symbol, on their socks. I've fought worse."

"Good. Then I'll see you around."

"Hey, Cora," called Kaplan, catching her before she hung up. "You haven't talk to Snake-sama by any chance, have you?" Cora scoffed.

"Do I ever? I believe **_that_** was a stupid question." She received a sigh from Kaplan. "I'm out."

"Bye."

Kaplan dropped the phone onto the receiver and climbed out of bed. It was nearing 4:30 in the morning and any attempt at a few more hours of sleep would be a waste of time. She decided to go to work early and on her way, maybe stop by the enemy's headquarters to pick up her prize. She found herself in the bathroom brushing her teeth and straightening her hair; setting the water temperature to a warm degree for an early morning shower. She shut the bathroom door behind her and undid the lace to her garments.

[5:48am – Saito X Headquarters]

Twin see-through glass doors slid aside as the Kunoichi stepped up to them. The large corporation located south of an open terrain was restless due to the many workers that flowed in and out of each room and office. She stopped within the center of the lobby-like hall and looked around at all of the masked faces that watched her. A few were men, leaned against a wall with their arms crossed and hard eyes upon her. The others were women sitting Indian-style near a wall or smoking opium at a table. And to Kaplan, it seemed the room fell silent. She took a step forward.

She arched back as a shuriken flew past her face and wedged into the concrete wall. She withdrew her kaiken from the sheath along her lower back, and stepped back into her fighting stance. She eyed everyone, not totally sure where the object came from but settled on a selected few. One ninja stepped forward with his arms crossed and a katana on his back. He stopped in front of her.

"You. A Kunoichi, ne?"

Kaplan refrained from answering. It was evident that she was by the gi that she possessed. Saito X was strictly a head to toe ensemble that consisted of the traditional ninja-sneaking outfit. The ninja took a hold of her with his eyes. He noticed the ankle length flaps that covered her front and behind and exposed the outline of her curvy hips and thighs. There was the thin obi that kept the gi secured at her middle, wrapped thrice around her waist and the deep neckline that draped over her breasts. Kaplan grunted, making his eyes move on from her chest area. He looked to her legs, smothered in cotton stalkings to her mid-thigh and the snow-painted tabi shoes that adorned her feet. Last, he took notice of the arm guards on her hands, the strings about her hips and the "Kage" kanji imprinted on the back of her gi. Those that crowded behind her noticed too. She stepped back, realizing that in that time, she had become surrounded. She glanced around at the faces.

"You're not welcome here!" A woman shouted.

"Leave before we kick your ass!" Another said. Kaplan held her kaiken close.

"She's welcomed here." Another woman announced from the back of the room. Murmurs arose as the ninja began clearing a path. Kaplan narrowed her eyes. It was another ninja, fully decked in black. The only thing exposed were a pair of eyes. She held up a hand with two digits causing the room to instantly fall to silence. Then reached for the mask that concealed her face. She pulled it off to let her shoulder-length, copper-brown hair fall. The ninja began murmuring again, seeing that she removed her mask for an enemy. The woman eyed them, calling some silence again. Her midnight olive eyes returned and stared coldly at the Kunoichi. Kaplan tilted her head and gently smiled.

"Took you long enough." She said, obviously not amused by Kaplan's lack of punctuality. Kaplan shrugged, sheathing her kaiken behind her. Cora motioned her to follow through the crowd of Saito Mercenaries.

"I had some things to attend to." Kaplan answered following after her. Cora pushed her way past the crowd of on-lookers as they all glared at the Kunoichi who trailed behind her.

"As always." 

She stopped beside an elevator and pushed the control button, summoning it. "Have your credit cards ready?"

"I don't see the idea of giving you my money when you're using my prey as ransom. You're getting money for it, anyway." The elevator opened its mouth and they stepped through once again, pushing another button to descend floors.

"I have plans. And I need all the money I can get."

"What? Saito not paying you enough?"

"Of course. But why spend what's mine, when I can spend what's yours?"

"Why not?"

"Look, just get me the money and we'll settle the dispute later, okay?"

"Not until you tell me what you need it for."

"I'll tell you when I feel like it."

"Why not now?"

"Just because. Now shut up so we can rough up this P.O.M"

"Don't you mean P.O.W?"

"Are we at war? No. He's a _Prisoner of Mine_."

"Uh…. Ok. Whatever." Kaplan stepped forward after Cora who led the way down a semi-lit area and hall. Posted around each corner was a 2nd class ninja, the ones with acute sense of mobility who could most likely utilize their strengths in all cases of a break in or out. Cora stopped before a dark cell. Kaplan could see a figure curled up in a corner with its hands and legs bound. It was a weary old man who'd just started to gray on top of his unkempt and distorted hair. His bound wrists were red with loss of circulation and his dingy shirt was drenched with sweat. Another glance of him allowed her to see that he had soiled himself. Most likely from over excitement and fear that Cora must of put on him. She shook her head in pity.

"What? This isn't him?" Asked Cora narrowing her eyes on Kaplan. Kaplan nodded, matching his face with the vivid image of the man taken on the photo she received. She raised a hand in the man's direction.

"Alright. Open this thing up." And with that, Cora nodded to her comrade who was given the position of guarding the man for the night and early morning. He flipped a switch, igniting the power to the electric cell doors. Kaplan and Cora stood back and watched as it slid open. Kaplan stepped inside, followed by Cora.

"Get up, ol' man!" Cora shouted, kicking the fragile guy in the chest. He grunted, falling over and off the wall. Kaplan gasped, kneeling beside him.

"Damn, Core! You don't have to be so mean! He's tied up for Christ's sake!"

Cora scoffed crossing her arms. "You're politeness makes me sick, ya'know that? I was just making sure he wasn't dead. You should thank me for not killing him earlier!"

Kaplan rolled her eyes and reached for the man's arms. She moved to help him rise while Cora watched.

"You're Richard, right?" The man didn't answer. Instead, he asked:

"W-who are you?"

"Don't worry about that." Interrupted Cora. "She's taking you somewhere **_nice_**. Away from here."

"Oh, thank god!" He yelled raising his nose to the ceiling. Kaplan eyed Cora. The man continued. "You're a savior!"

"Hush up," Kaplan mumbled near his ear. "Where I'm taking you, isn't as nice as she makes it seem."

"Huh?" The man's excitement quickly died. Kaplan watched as his blindfolded face turned to her. "What do you mean?"

The rest of the way back to the lobby, Kaplan held it together, refraining from answering the talkative man's questions. She turned her eyes away from the ninja that remained in the lobby area and continued to carry the man through the sliding glass doors, in which she came. Cora stood before the door, watching as the two exited slowly and made their way to the transport of Kaplan's Porsche. She narrowed her eyes as a ninja neared her ear and began to whisper—his deep, wine-colored eyes staring hauntingly at the back of Kaplan and her captive. Cora nodded at his words.

"I'll see to it that it doesn't happen. I'll be there to supervise her every move."


End file.
